Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Demon's of Konoha ❯ Christmas Rivals ( Chapter 33 )

Itachi was sprawled out on the leather couch in complete comfort; a foot was resting on the floor the other was over the arm rest on the other end of the couch. Slowly sipping his hot tea before returning it to the coffee table clad in only a tight white t-shirt with dark green and blue plaid pajama bottoms as he read `Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone' by the light of the fire. His hair was thrown over the pillow he was resting on instead of being pulled back. It was five in the morning and for the first time in years Itachi could relax in peace and comfort. He had hoped he would be able to sleep in but couldn't sleep any longer, the result of training for the better part of his life.

 

He settled downstairs when he found the book on the coffee table instantly becoming engrossed in the story about a child hero battling the forces of evil. At first he was hesitant about reading the book, thinking it wouldn't be able to hold his interest, but found that it surprisingly did. The story in itself was simple yet very well-written that had Itachi captivated enough he didn't hear Hinata come down the stairs until he noticed her reading over his shoulder.

 

“Surprisingly good book isn't it?” Hinata smiled softly as Itachi's face refused to show his surprise only activating his Sharingan when he noticed who snuck up on him. Closing the book over his thumb to mark his spot Itachi sat up leaning against his elbows. “Sorry for sneaking up on you” Hinata spoke with a small smile. “I just thought I would say hi before I put the turkey in the oven for dinner.”

 

“Hinata talk to me for a minute will you” Itachi spoke, his voice as soft and warm as Hinata remembered it from before the massacre. It reflected how relaxed he was in the others company. He looked the same really, just tired.

 

Bringing her hands up into the ram seal Hinata formed chakra and created a Mizu Bushin. “Go and start the turkey along with breakfast will you. I need to talk to sensei real fast” Hinata addressed her clone watching it yawn in her pajamas before heading towards the kitchen. “What's up sensei?”

 

“Sit for a minute Hinata” Itachi motioned to the end of the couch, allowing the smaller girl to sit down in the now vacant spot. Hinata curled herself against the arm of the couch her knees brought to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She was worried about her life or anything, even though most would be scared being around someone accused of committing genocide against the Uchiha clan. “What was that girl talking about upstairs last night? What prophecy is she talking about exactly?”

 

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0-

 

Itachi sighed as the warm water beat down on his head, before following the many trails of water flowed off his body from his hair. Leaning back he began to wash the shampoo from the only bathroom in the house with a modernized shower in it. It was the only request he had when he became an ANBU agent, having become used to it at ANBU headquarters. His father considered it to be no big expense for the Uchiha prodigy as ANBU was something to be celebrated in the Uchiha clan along with activating their Sharingan. As a perk though he decided to have western toilets instead of the traditional bathrooms they had for years, something for which the Uchiha clan came to love.

 

He turned off the shower before wrapping a huge dark green fluffy towel around his waist. Making sure it was secure he grabbed a smaller towel to begin drying his long hair, going into his old room stopping in front of his dresser mirror finding things against the opposite wall that he missed. Opening his drawers he found is clothes were washed and put away looking as if he had just left the other day instead of years ago.

 

Some things had changed in the room from when he was a teenager although Itachi was silently thankful for them. His walls were repainted a white color where pictures hung in frames, matted of his family in their happier times. One picture was of a much younger Itachi giving a five year old Sasuke a piggy-back ride. Sasuke was smiling as he held on for dear life, as it was the first time he had traveled from rooftop to rooftop. Sasuke's hair was sticking up in different places from where the wind blew through it. His cheeks were rosy and he had a Naruto sized smile on his face. Itachi couldn't stop the smile on his face at the memory of that time.

 

The next one was of Sasuke, Itachi and Hinata as they stood outside of the private middle school that both went to in different uniforms. Hinata and Sasuke were in the school uniforms while Itachi was in his ANBU uniform sans the mask. All three were wearing small smiles that looked more like smirks. They had gotten Kakashi to take the picture before a mission which was why the uniforms were nicely pressed. This photo was the first time Sasuke smiled around someone outside of his direct household. In fact Sasuke only used to smile at their mom and Itachi himself. Sasuke to warming up to an outsider was unheard of, so Itachi knew Hinata was special.

 

Last on the wall was a frame that held a set of collages. In the middle was a photo was Itachi with the four twelve year olds taken before he started training them. Itachi looked young at eighteen as the small smile on his face proved he was happier at that time. Gaara and Sasuke were glaring at the camera while Hinata and Naruto had cheesy smiles on their faces. Under the picture read `Team Itachi' because to the kids that's who they were. Around the team photo were different pictures taken by Kakashi as they trained. A picture of the boys practicing with a katana was in one spot while Hinata with her Bo Staff was in another. Gaara was in another wielding a scythe, using his sand in cover any open spots in his defense he may have had. The scythe was the only weapon that Gaara had reached master level on, although he was familiar with the others. It always made fighting him interesting. The other pictures were of the kids doing chakra training drills like running up the waterfall or trees. Those pictures were some of Itachi's fondest memories. Ahh he could hear they're groans of pain and protest now, it was music to his ears.

 

The last picture in the room was on Itachi's nightstand in a simple silver frame. Itachi was about eight, making Sasuke two years old in the photo. Sitting down on his dark green comforter Itachi grabbed the last framed picture in his room. The frame was nothing special just a simple silver frame but the picture itself was worth more than gold to Itachi. The photo was old, almost fifteen years exactly as Itachi was eight in the photo making Sasuke only two. He was standing next to a beautiful brunet with a loving smile on her face as she held a two year old Sasuke. She was his mother forever looking so happy and in love. All three of them were smiling at something that was out of sight. That was the last time Itachi smiled like that in front of his family. Running his fingers down the photo in remembrance Itachi had to choke back the urge to cry, for the loss of his family.

 

Breathing deeply, calming himself Itachi put the frame back on his nightstand before getting dressed. Later he could mourn for his family but tonight he had to help another victim. Grabbing his clothes he quickly got dressed and hung up his towel before heading towards the guest room.

 

Walking in the room Itachi found the rest of the household already there. The only ones missing were Sasuke, Naruto and Zabuza as they went back to their apartments until morning. Kisame decided he wanted sleep and if the girl woke up, she might be more afraid of his looks than anything so he stayed in his room. The girl in question looked newly clean as she wore light green flannel pajamas with giant bunnies on them. Her red hair was washed and put into a braid. She looked like a normal sleeping girl until you found the stuffed bear that she had a death grip on.

 

Hinata was in there in her partially wet red pajamas and hair, along with Haku in her pale blue. Another woman was in there wearing a formal kimono sitting on the windows edge looking outside into the star-less night; her sandy-blonde hair was pulled up into a bun revealing red tips within. At Itachi's questioning look Hinata spoke-up “Her name's Tani, and she's the demon sealed inside me. A very sadistic demon” Hinata muttered the last part under her breathe knowing that Tani could hear her from where she was.

 

Tani turned and narrowed her eyes at Hinata watching her shiver from the glare in satisfaction. Oh yes, Hinata was going to suffer for that little comment. Although she did wake her up by dumping water on her head a few minutes ago. Thirty minutes was long enough for the Jinchuuriki to sleep, in Tani's opinion. After all when you are asleep your chakra replenishes faster, so Hinata was running about half-full.

 

“The girl on the bed is Youko Nakajima. She and her mother were sold into slavery by a second-cousin of some sort, or rather some kind of family member of some soft at least.” Haku couldn't help moving her hands as she talked about the sleeping girl. Explaining her actions to the Hokage was one thing but to Itachi whose house they were intruding on was a totally different thing. “For the last six years she had been abused and raped with no one able to save her, and as a promise to her mother on her deathbed I brought her back.”

 

“I was able to heal her body's bruises and wounds but for her mental state of mind, I don't know enough yet.” Hating to admit there was nothing she could do to help her friend Hinata could only sigh as she looked away. “I can make her forget up to the last twenty minutes of something but that is it. Tani could make her forget the past, but the cost is way too high. That leaves you as our last option, Itachi-sensei”

 

“Aniki” Itachi broke in, knowingly cut Hinata off from speaking, but he figured what he had to say should pacify her. “You are basically my little sister in all but blood. You can call me Aniki but only when we are not training. Training is the only time you cannot call me that, I don't even let Sasuke do it then. With the Sharingan I can only make her forget for three months, after that she must face her past. Anything longer than that and she will go insane.”

 

“Thanks Aniki” Hinata muttered letting the words roll off her tongue. For some reason, calling Itachi her older brother just seemed right. She really couldn't do it to Gaara since he was only a little older than she was; he was firmly named as Gaara-nii forever in Hinata's mind.

 

“Now she needs to open her eyes for this, without eye contact I can't go into her mind.” Itachi moved over to the bed, his body moving like a panther stalking his prey. He moved with the grace that she had only seen Tani move with that had her raising an eyebrow at the comparison. In fact Itachi had an almost demonic regal look to them the more Hinata looked at him the more she noticed similarities between the two. Catching Tani's eye she raised an eyebrow in question getting only a negative head shake in response.

 

Hinata walked to the other side of the bed and yanked the bear out of Youko's hands, painfully watching the helpless girl reach out, whimpering instantly at the loss of comfort. . Youko opened her eyes only to peer into spinning red eyes where she had fallen back into a trance. Itachi worked diligently sealing the memories away as to not harm the girl when he heard a voice talking in the room that belonged to none of them. Youko reached up and grabbed Itachi's arm speaking in a deep voice not her own. Hey eyes though a muddy green color looked blank into nothingness as she spoke of an age-old tale.

 

“The twins of Light and Dark shall prevail.”

 

Eyebrows raised in the shock filled room. Tani was the only one who had heard this before, as she could recite it by memory. Hearing it from a human with no ties to Demon Realm caused her to tense up instantly.

 

“The prophecy will never fail.”

 

Everyone listened intently as Tani only tightened her hands into fists wearing the words swirl through her head as she heard it through her lifetime. She grinded her teeth together, hating the way it seemed to be mocking her.

 

“World peace will come to pass.

 

Tani and Shukaku's nursemaid had chastised the five year olds repeatedly for not paying attention to their studies. Why did she and Shukaku have to learn this anyways? Why couldn't they play outside with their cousins? Who cared about some stupid prophecy anyways? Both twins were too young to realize that twins were not normal in the Demon Realm, in fact they were the only ones ever born since the creation of the world.

 

When the Chosen One has breathe its last.

 

Tani and Shukaku were burying their father in an elaborate ceremony honoring his death. Battle, blood, death, honor they were all the same in the Eki Mouretsu Clan. An unmatched battle rage is what their clan was known to possess so to die a bloody battle to the death for honor was the way all clan members strived to achieve. They were the Vikings in histories passed. To die in battle with honor, there was nothing better.

 

Betrayal, anger, suffering and hate

 

Tani ripped the tiara off her head, taking the flowing white veil with it, and threw it on the floor. A perverse pleasure ran through her as she watched the tiara bounce across the floor. Grabbing the front of her long, white dress Tani stormed out of the church and into the night with fire in her eyes ready to kill her fiancé Kyuubi. He never showed. He had never fucking showed and they had waited two hours and nothing not even a messenger to inform them of the change of plans. Most of her clan was there along with some of the other noble families. She had gotten her married best friend Lina into a dress, and that was a near impossibility. She was about to march up to his house to kill him for the dishonor he had caused her family when Shukaku stopped her. He pulled her into a big hug allowing her yelling to pass as she started crying on her brother's shoulder. `Why' was the only thing she could get out of her mouth as she cried for days, seeing no one but her brother?

 

Love and understanding will come too late.

 

Tani stood in distress as she watched her father fall to his knees on the arena floor. Blood flowing from his mouth as Gekido gave his daughter one last smile. “You have made me proud my daughter.” Gekido coughed out some blood before spitting it onto the floor. He dropped his hands to the floor to hold himself up as he turned to look at Tani one last time with pride in his eyes. “You have given me no greater honor. Thank you.” Gekido fell over on his side as he stopped breathing, blood pooling from the different injuries on his body.

 

“The winner is Tanuki Ichibi. This match is over the Right of Kuran Shubousha has been completed.” The announcer called out to the crowd as Tani could only stare at the smile of pride on her fathers face, all because she wouldn't let them go to war against the Kitsune Clan for Kyuubi's actions.

 

When all is said and all is done

 

Happiness follows the Chosen One.

 

As for the twins of Light and Dark,

 

On a journey they must embark.

 

One of Pain and One of Joy,

 

Neither life is a toy.

 

As the prophecy comes to pass,

 

Either twin will cease to last.”

 

Tani hated that prophecy with every fiber of her being. For as long as she could remember she heard that stupid thing and she hated it. There was two prophecies left to be filled, the one about the Chosen child and hers: The twins of Light and Dark. After she was sealed in Hinata the prophecy stopped being filled. `I thought the prophecy was over, but clearly I was wrong' Tani thought wanting nothing more to kill the girl on the bed. `I can't she's innocent, and only a messenger. Still I must take her to Shukaku at the nearest convenience. He might have some idea as to why a mortal would know that tale.'

 

Youko's eyes closed as she began to breathe deeply, the signs of sleep. Hinata placed Mr. Bear next to Youko watching her grab the bear and pulled it to her smiling serenely, completely oblivious to the anything around her.

 

“Hinata” Tani spoke looking out to the night wanting to be out of the house. “I am taking Yoko with me when I go visit my brother, so she will be gone for a few days. I will take care of her so don't worry.”

 

“Alright Tani” Hinata spoke softly knowing that her demon hated hearing about the prophecy. Hinata nodded her head towards the door signaling to the others that they should leave. With an overly-huge yawn and stretch Hinata spoke tiredly “I am exhausted and I have dinner to make in the morning. I will see you guys later. I need sleep.”

 

-0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o-

 

“It's one of the few prophecies Kami-sama had at the creation of the world. There is one for each race: Human, Demon and Monster. This particular prophecy has to do with the Demon Race, and it's about Tani and her brother, much to her lament. The Monster Race's prophecy has already come true, while the Human one hasn't started that I know of. I don't know what the prophecies are exactly only there is more to it then what Youko said upstairs. I'm curious as to what it is but then again, I can agree with Tani. Knowing could be bad, because then it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Hinata pulled her hair behind her ears as she explained what she knew. “I also don't know which parts have already been fulfilled and what hasn't.”

 

“I don't think I would want to know either” Itachi remarked going back to his book to read. “I would hate to think that my life is pre-determined and I couldn't do anything to change it. I like to think that I am in control of my life and my choices.”

 

“I have to agree with you on that one Aniki,” Hinata muttered getting comfortable on the couch, knowing her clone had everything under control. While she hated doing it, she figured it was a holiday she could relax and her clone could do the work this morning. Besides she worked hard and deserved a day off every once in a while. “Hey Aniki, do you still have your ANBU tattoo?”

 

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the question before lifting the sleeve of his left shirt, revealing the red ANBU tattoo. “Why do you want to know?”

 

“I know once you get the tattoo it's permanent unless a couple of conditions are met. Death, betrayal, and demotion are the ones I know but since you are considered a missing-nin I was wondering if you still had your tattoo or did it disappear.” Hinata shrugged as if the question wasn't important and instead found Itachi's feet interesting. Wanting to work on her message therapy she lifted a foot onto her lap and began to press into the muscles of his feet.

 

“If I answered, do you promise not to stop messaging my feet? Man that feels good.” Itachi practically moaned as Hinata's thumbs began working out a tense muscle in his arch. Itachi had worn boots or shinobi shoes his whole life, and while the boots gave support his shoes did not. Getting a foot message took off the aches and pains he would occasionally get from constantly being in his shoes.

 

`Why would I ask a question I didn't want an answer to?' Hinata thought as she began working on another section of his foot, slowly releasing chakra to heal the minor cuts and bruises that come with the job. Reaching behind her Hinata grabbed some lotion from the end tables drawer putting some on her hands before working them into his feet, allowing her hands to move easier over the fragile area.

 

When Hinata began rubbing the lotion into his feet Itachi thought he had died and gone to heaven. Normally he hated his feet played with, or even messed with for that matter but the aches he had went away under Hinata's magical hands. “To Konoha itself I am considered a missing-nin and a murderer at that. To the Hokage however, I am an ANBU agent undercover for the sake of Konoha. My loyalties are to the Hokage himself and Konoha whom I've sworn to protect and for that reason alone the tattoo will never leave. The tattoo also allows me to exit and enter Konoha at whim without triggering any alarms.”

 

“How do you keep it from being shown during your mission? You do have to change your clothes sometime.” Hinata grabbed his other foot as she began working through the muscles feeling them move under her hands.

 

“A bandage is a good idea for if you are in Konoha itself. Outside when you are on your mission the symbol blends into you skin, making it look completely unmarked. It was made this way because every Hidden Village has their own symbol for ANBU. The shape itself can identify to which village you are allied with, which is why there is such secrecy about how it is done. Only the Hokage himself can put the tattoo on someone, which is why the Root ANBU doesn't have the tattoo on their arms they have something different showing their loyalty to someone else. Answer your questions?” Itachi asked knowing he should ask the reasons for her questions but decided he didn't want to know. At Hinata's nod Itachi continued “Good now less talky more massage-y.”